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The article reports the U.S. military's success in forging ties with tribal sheiks around Ramadi, Iraq, and considers whether similar local alliances against insurgents could be formed in other parts of the country. The sheiks are allying with the Americans to try to quell the sectarian violence being fomented by al Qaeda and other insurgents, both Sunni and Shi'ite.

Focuses on the insurgency in Iraq, which includes a vast network of infiltrators, spies and recruiters. Fears of U.S. intelligence officials that Iraq's security services have hundreds of so-called ghost soldiers who are working for the insurgency; Discovery of Iraqi police officers with terrorist connections, according to Iraqi officials in Baghdad; Concerns over moles from Saddam Hussein's elite intelligence corps, the Mukhabarat; The Baghdad government's web of agents and informants; Implications of the proliferation of new insurgents; How counterinsurgency experts are alarmed by how fast the insurgents' tactics can evolve; Suggestion that Iraq is producing a new corps of master terrorists.

Reports on the loss of scared relics from under the sands of the Middle East. How the war in Iraq has destroyed many archaeological dig sites; Looting and destruction of the sites which figure in Judaism, Christianity and the Muslim faiths; Why money is being diverted from digs in Israel; How looters in Iraq are wiping out fields of knowledge and cultural history; How the coalition forces in Iraq make it more difficult to preserve the past.

Offers a look at the shortage of armored Humvees that led to war casualties of United States and allied soldiers during the Iraq War of 2003 and 2004. Claim by soldiers that the U.S. government has failed to protect them with the best technology; Lack of tanks and body armor; Filing of a Freedom of Information Act request by Russ Kick for the release of photographs showing coffins returning to the United States from Iraq; Statement that a breakdown of casualty figures suggests that many U.S. deaths and wounds did not need to occur; Recommendation by the head of the U.S. Army Forces Command, General Larry Ellis, that more of the Stryker combat vehicles be put into the field; Attacks by insurgents in Iraq on the vulnerable soldiers; Cost of the military operations in Iraq.

Reports on efforts by the U.S. military and coalition forces to control the violence in Iraq. Details of attempts by Iranian mediators to persuade radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to end his uprising; Discussion of the continued violence in Fallujah; Claim that Iraq's reconstituted security forces appear to be disintegrating; Report that many Iraqis are angry about civilian deaths in the attack by U.S. Marines on Fallujah; Comment by Lt. Col. Gary Volesky on the challenges of controlling the uprising in Sadr City; Account of how many ordinary Iraqis appear to be turning on American troops.

Reports on fighting between U.S. occupying forces and Sunni and Shiite militants in Iraq, and the debate over how to deal with radical Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Comparison between the attacks on Americans and the Palestinian intifada; Observation that the reluctance among Coalition Provisional Authority officials to crack down on al-Sadr, who is inciting violent uprisings against coalition troops, arises from the conflict between the dual goals of maintaining order and winning hearts and minds; Background on al-Sadr and his role in inciting violence; Details of the investigation into al-Sadr's role in the killing of moderate Shiite cleric Abel Majid al-Khoei; Claim that the Iraqi grand ayatollahs oppose al-Sadr, and are angry about his recent trip to Iran; Speculation about why the CPA has so far failed to stop al-Sadr.

Examines the U.S.-led occupation in Iraq. Attitudes of the U.S. military and the President George W. Bush administration; Incident in Fallujah where U.S. security personnel were murdered and mutilated; View that Iraq has become a strategic battleground in the war on terror; Iraqi reactions to the U.S. military presence; Outlook for the plan to hand over security to Iraqis; Challenges of bringing the killers in Fallujah to justice; The increased attacks on U.S. troops and civilians; Overview of the violence; How the growing threat to civilians has stalled reconstruction; Impact of the insurgency on the U.S. military; Question of who the insurgents are.

Discusses the current state of Iraq a year after the war started. Comments by a friend of the author who lives in Iraq on how the country is now compared to then; Experience of the author in Iraq when the war started; Progress of the rebuilding of Iraq, including the cost of infra structure projects; Feelings of other Iraqis on the condition of their country a year after the war started.

Reports the brutality of the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. Information from tapes, documents, and other Baath Party papers offering evidence of the ways Saddam ruled by torture and terror; Purpose of Iraqi agencies, including the Iraqi Intelligence Service and the Special Security Organization; Description of life in the police state, where people spied on each other or were detained and interrogated in prisons; Details of the grandeur of the Hussein palaces, including what was found in the villa of his son Uday.

Describes the looting in Saddam City, a Baghdad slum in Iraq. Need for armed personnel to defend Saddam General Hospital from mobs and vandals; Indiation that most of the inhabitants are Shiites who have been oppressed by the Sunni-dominated regime of Saddam Hussein; Presence of Hizbullah strangers prowling the streets; Idea that many young Shiites care more about revenge than politics; Efforts to restore order and prevent street crime; Outlook for a secular democracy or a strict Islamic state in Iraq.

Discusses the Iraqi civilian mind-set in the midst of a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Report that Shiite civilians experienced Coalition bombings that left many injured or killed in the first weeks of the war; How the Iraqi psyche is tied to tribal loyalties, a sense of national pride, and distrust of United States' promises; Use of the media by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein; Kurdish support for Coalition forces; Stray bombs that have caused civilian injuries.

Focuses on the invasion of Iraq by the United States and Allied forces, from the perspective of a 'Newsweek' journalist living in Baghdad. Description of Baghdad before the bombing and after the war began; Why the journalist remained in Iraq; Details of the journalist's life in Baghdad; Her opinion that it is safer for her to be in Baghdad than to try to leave the country; How she has prepared her hotel room to protect herself during the bombings.

Focuses on the arrangements made during the week of November 14, 1997 with Iraqi president Saddam Hussein that permit United Nations arms inspectors to return to the country. US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov; Primakov's persuasion of Saddam; Consideration of Russia's role in the arrangements with Iraq. INSET: Saddam's Universe..

Focuses on the diplomatic mission of Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations. The preparations for his negotiations with Iraqi president Saddam Hussein; The influence of Americans in shaping the accord that averted a war over Baghdad; Saddam agreeing to give UNSCOM, the U.N. weapons-inspection team, unlimited access to palaces and other sites; The expectation that Saddam will eventually renege on the pact.

Looks at the crisis in United States and United Nations (UN) relations with Iraq as of February 24,1998. Possibility that UN Secretary General Khofi Annan's agreement with Saddam Hussein will avert a war; What the deal would have to include; Possibility that the crisis might recur even with a deal; First test of President Clinton's foreign policy team of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Defense Secretary William Cohen and policy adviser Sandy Berger.

Discusses the march on Baghdad, Iraq. City that is almost fully sieged; Loss of electricity; Realization that Saddam Hussein's rule is near it's end; Response of Iraqis; Belief that Iraqis are already speaking more freely; Closing of banks, schools, and most nonessential state offices.

The article discusses the powerful role played by Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr in Iraq. Sadr's Mahdi Army is a killing presence in Baghdad, and Sadr himself is compared to a popular Mafia Don who can wage political or actual war any time he chooses. He embodies what the author says the Americans have long misread: religious sentiment, economic resentment, and sectarian passions.

Focuses on the efforts of U.S. President George W. Bush and his administration to gain support for the progress of the Iraq War as of July 4, 2005. Responsibility of military commanders to inform the President and the public of the accurate progress of military operations; View that the assessment of stability in Iraq by Bush and his officials differs greatly from that of top generals; Claim that public support for the Iraq War has declined; Impact of increasing civilian and military casualties on the decline in public support; Characterization of communications between Bush and key generals in Iraq; Strategies used by the Bush administration to increase public support for the war; Analysis of U.S. policy in the Iraq War.

Discusses the pleas by many concerned people, such as human-rights activists and politicians, for the creation of a commission to investigate the prisoner abuse of Iraqis. Details of a meeting between Condoleezza Rice and human-rights activists on the prisoner abuse; Criticism of current probes into the abuse; Disciplinary actions already taken against soldiers; Progress of the current investigations.

Discusses the implications of the raid on the home and offices of Ahmad Chalabi and his Iraqi National Congress by Iraqi police. Search for evidence of kidnapping, embezzlement, torture and theft; Chalabi's relationship with U.S. Pentagon officials and the President George W. Bush administration; Investigation of Chalabi by the U.S. for leaking secrets to Iran's government; How Chalabi once had access to the top levels of the U.S. government; Background on Chalabi, including his dubious intelligence information; Chalabi's active interest in planning for postwar Iraq; How Chalabi tried to stop the corruption investigation against him; Outlook for Chalabi.

Examines how U.S. military interrogation changed after the September 11, 2001 attacks, when the President George W. Bush administration wrote new rules to fight a new kind of war. Reactions of legislators to images of American soldiers abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison in Baghdad, Iraq; Question of who taught the torture methods to the guards; How some images portray techniques officially approved by the government for use against terrorist suspects; Roles of Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft in signing off on a secret system of detention and interrogation; Issue of the Geneva Conventions, which protect rights of detainees and prisoners of war; How the Bush administration created a legal framework to justify this system of interrogation; Background on the administration's emerging approach in the war on terrorism; Outlook for more charges. INSET: WHAT THE RULES SAY.

Discusses who is responsible for abuse of Iraqi detainees by U.S. military police at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Comments by Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, formerly in charge of Abu Ghraib, on the role of Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the commandant at the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba detention camp, in advising soldiers manning Abu Ghraib on methods for obtaining information from detainees, and establishing Abu Ghraib as an interrogation center; Assertions by military police involved in the abuse that they were acting on orders; Reactions of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard Myers to revelations of abuse; Report that Miller has been assigned the task of rectifying the problems at Abu Ghraib; Speculation about whether the Pentagon is trying to cover up a widespread policy of abusive interrogation practices that clearly violate the Geneva Conventions; Attempts by members of Congress to establish who was really in charge at Abu Ghraib; Details of the report on interrogations at Abu Ghraib by Gen. Antonio Taguba.

Offers a look at the abuse of Iraqi prisoners of war by United States soldiers following the Iraq War of 2003. Comments made by Brigadier General Janis Karpinski on the abuse of Iraqi prisoners; Report by Amnesty International that as early as July 2003, former detainees in Iraq said they suffered beatings, sleep deprivation or other abuses; Deaths of prisoners in U.S. custody that were declared homicides; Statement that one of the goals of the detention centers is to break the prisoners' will by exposure to fear, shame, disorientation, exhaustion and physical pressure; Report that six U.S. soldiers face criminal charges for abusing prisoners; Claim by a lawyer for one of the defendants that the military is scapegoating the six soldiers; Possibility that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency was involved in the alleged brutality.

Examines the U.S.-led occupation in Iraq. Attitudes of the U.S. military and the President George W. Bush administration; Incident in Fallujah where U.S. security personnel were murdered and mutilated; View that Iraq has become a strategic battleground in the war on terror; Iraqi reactions to the U.S. military presence; Outlook for the plan to hand over security to Iraqis; Challenges of bringing the killers in Fallujah to justice; The increased attacks on U.S. troops and civilians; Overview of the violence; How the growing threat to civilians has stalled reconstruction; Impact of the insurgency on the U.S. military; Question of who the insurgents are.

Presents the author's views on her travel to the Palestine Hotel at the height of the war against Iraq in 2003. Account of U.S. soldiers' military operation to secure the hotel; Key features and specifications of the hotel before the damage caused by the war; Implications on tourist trade.

Discusses Iraqi financier and freedom fighter Ahmad Chalabi. Return to Iraq, his homeland, after 45 years in exile; Hope among Americans that Chalabi may help to reshape Iraq; Description of Chalabi as a democrat and a paragon of Iraq; How Chalabi was educated in the U.S. and headed a bank in Jordan.

Discusses the possible United States' military plan of action against Iraq and speculates as to how Iraqi President Saddam Hussein might fight back. Weapons to be used such as the E-bomb and precision-guided bombs and missiles; Statement that the desired effect is to stun and demoralize the Iraqi Army into surrendering quickly; Hope that Saddam will be left paralyzed before he can hit back; Technological advances made since the first Gulf War in 1991; Claim that the goal is not to wipe out Saddam's forces but to convince them that they are needed for the creation of Iraq without Saddam; Dangers of urban fighting.

This article profiles Ryan Crocker, the most recent chief diplomat for the U.S. in Iraq. Crocker succeeds Jay Garner and Paul Bremer, as the situation in Iraq deteriorates, his leadership may be key to holding the country together. Crocker is uniquely qualified to face that storm. A fluent Arabic speaker and former ambassador to Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon and Pakistan, he has dealt with some of the most difficult assignment in the Middle East.

The article focuses on the conditions at the bulging prisons in Iraq. U.S. commander in Iraq General David Petraeus has issued a warning regarding the human rights of prisoners. The author questions whether the mass arrests are counter productive to the reconstruction efforts in Iraq since prison is reportedly the biggest school for extremists and Al Qaeda.

Focuses on Muhammad Mohsen Zubaidi, who ran an opposition spy network in Iraq. How the former Iraqi exile returned as the regime of Saddam Hussein collapsed; His goal of running Baghdad; Background on Zubaidi, who ran networks of informants and saboteurs inside Iraq; How he is helping organize joint police patrols with the U.S. military and delivering aid to looted hospitals; His possible role as an Iraqi leader.

Focuses on the concerns of archaeologists that the treasures of Iraq may be destroyed in a war. Historical significance of the Iraqi city of Ur; Number of archaeological sites in Iraq historians hope are not damaged; Concerns that ancient treasures may be looted during a war; How workers at the Iraq Museum worked to pack treasured items into metal trunks for protection.

Contends that while winning the war against Iraq may be fairly easy, securing the peace in Iraq after the war is a very difficult task. Desire of U.S. officials to withdraw troops from postwar Iraq in as little as 30 to 90 days after the removal of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein; Future of Iraq Project's assertion that a long-term occupation is unwise; Paired-down view of nation-building which emphasizes self-reliance; Critics' opinions that the cost and terms of occupation in Iraq is much greater than U.S. President George W. Bush is claiming; Fear of a civil war or postwar bloodbath.

Looks at the crisis in United States and United Nations (UN) relations with Iraq as of February 24, 1998. Possibility that UN Secretary General Khofi Annan's agreement with Saddam Hussein will avert a war; What the deal would have to include; Possibility that the crisis might recur even with a deal; First test of President Clinton's foreign policy team of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Defense Secretary William Cohen and policy adviser Sandy Berger. INSET: Thunder in the desert.

Looks at the questionable relationship between the United States and Russia in the light of the crisis in the Persian Gulf. Yevgeny Primakov's encouragement of Saddam Hussein to think he can get away with defying the United Nations; Report of a Russian deal tosell biological warfare equipment to Iraq; Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev's attack on US Secretary of Defense William Cohen; Background of the relationship between Iraq and Russia. INSET: Blackest nights in Iraq.

The article discusses the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) against U.S. forces in the Iraq War. Insurgents have used IEDs to spring ambushes against U.S. troops. IEDs can be constructed economically from information off the Internet using items such as disposable phones and garage-door openers. Explosively formed projectiles are IEDs shot from cannons that can damage tanks. The U.S. military has begin outfitting vehicles with increased armor to protect soldiers.

Looks at the stampede during a religious procession on the bridge over the Tigris river in Baghdad, Iraq. Description of the events that led to the mass deaths from trampling and drowning; How the day of the tragedy had started with a mortar attack at the Khadhimiya shrine; Discussion of prior suicide bombings and terrorist attacks; Restraint by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani which prevented further bloodshed.

Reports on the progress towards a trial for former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. Description of Hussein's recent appearance before an Iraqi Special Tribunal judge; How the Iraqis will react to the outcome of a trial; The Sunnis mistrust of the Shiite majority; Concern by United States officials about its relationship with Hussein in the 1980s; Discussion of the Iraqi legal system and troubles with the tribunal.

Reports on the challenges facing Coalition officials in establishing the rule of law in Iraq. Claim that many Iraqis have come to mistrust the American occupiers, and want them to leave the country; Report that the Coalition's recent decision to rehabilitate former Baathists to help lead the armed forces of a liberated Iraq has angered Shiites and Kurds; Report that radical Shiite clerics Jassim al-Saadi and Moqtada al-Sadr have claimed the right to administer justice through an illegal Sharia court; Account of efforts by the Coalition to rebuild Iraq's legal apparatus; Report of killings by al-Sadr.

Discusses the experiences of the author in Baghdad through out the initial bombing of Iraq by the United States. Description of the first nights in the Palestine hotel as the bombings began; Details of the accidental shelling of the hotel by U.S. forces during the land portion of the war that killed two journalists; Discussions and relations that the author had with other Iraqis, including their attitudes on the U.S. invading; Emotional feelings of the author when touring the old jails and torture chambers after the Iraqi government was toppled.

Presents an interview with Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi. What he has been doing in Iraq since returning from exile; Views on U.S. support; Chalabi's decision not to run for office in Iraq; Thoughts on whether there will be a civil war.

Examines how the loyalties of Sheik Kadhim and other Iraqi tribal leaders may prove crucial in a possible U.S.-led war against Iraq. The tribal leaders' support of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein; How Baghdad has tried to minimize unrest by strengthening the tribal system; Hussein's destruction of the marshes, where many rebels once lived, after crushing the 1991 uprising.

Reports that despite the possibility of a U.S.-led war in Iraq, the real estate market in Iraq is flourishing. How buyers are placing their faith in the United States' smart bombs; Inflation in Iraq; Report that Iraqi optimism is unmistakable; How the Baghdad stock exchange is soaring and private construction plans are pushing ahead.

Discusses the reaction of Iraqis to an impending war. Calmness of Iraqis; Messages from the United States that the Iraqis have reported to authorities; Propaganda by the U.S. that has not convinced Iraqis; Nation that has grown accustomed to threats; Decision of families to stockpile staple foods; Belief that the war could end quickly.

Looks at foreign policy challenges facing United States President Bill Clinton in the wake of the August 1998 bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Breakdown of talks with Iraq over weapons inspections; Question about the scale of Iraq's weapons program; Illness of Jordan's King Hussein and Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, who have contributed to stability in the Middle East; The limited options for dealing with Saddam Hussein.

The article focuses on the relationship between Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and U.S. President George W. Bush. Maliki's aides say the politicians share a strong bond based, perhaps, on similar political situations. Both men are being pressured to make stability in Iraq and the end of the Iraq war realities. Another similarity is having to deal with a Congress and Parliament who have different views on government policy.

The old U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq has not hosted a U.S. ambassador since April Glaspie shipped out just before the 1991 gulf war. The next tenant could be the man who is in line to administer postwar Iraq, retired Army Lieutenant General Jay M. Garner. The last thing U.S. officials want to emulate in Iraq is the seven-year occupation of Japan. In fact, some officials at the Pentagon and State Department tell 'Newsweek' magazine they hope to be able to withdraw U.S. troops in as little as 30 to 90 days after President Saddam Hussein's ouster--if Iraq's military can be swiftly purged of his henchmen and turned into a pro-Western security force. Administration officials who are part of the Future of Iraq Project, underway since April 2002, caution that no plans are definite. At the White House, where the National Security Council chairs weekly meetings on postwar Iraq, officials say that as coalition support for war has grown, so has their confidence that the occupation's duration can be kept to a minimum.

Discusses the United Nations' allegations that Iraq's Saddam Hussein had been testing gruesome weapons on human subjects. Details about the incident where Iraq's government stopped Scott Ritter from investigating sensitive sites, calling him a spy and complaining that his team was too `Anglo-Saxon'; Details about the United Nations' investigators. INSET: Are the U.N. inspectors really spies?.

The article presents an interview with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. The interview covers a range of issues, including the relationship between the U.S. government and Prime Minister (PM) Nouri al-Maliki, the impact of increased numbers U.S. military troops, the relationship between U.S. General David Petraeus and PM Maliki, and rumors of political coups in the Iraqi government.

Considers the recent bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta and wonders if the attack will influence elections in Australia; Race between John Howard and Mark Latham for the leadership of the country; Howard who has been an ally of the U.S. throughout the Iraq War; Latham who is promising to bring the troops home by Christmas if he gets elected; How the political debate Down Under has centered on local and national issues and not the war up until this incident; Which candidate will likely benefit if security becomes an issue for the Australian voter.

Reports that Shiite militias have taken Japanese, British, and Canadian civilians in Iraq as hostages. Demands from the insurgents that Japan withdraw its troops from Iraq in order for the captives to be released; Vulnerability of Coalition troops and civilians in Iraq; Consideration of how the Asian allies will pull Kazakh troops out of Iraq in May; Complaints from foreign soldiers that security concerns increase the difficulty of their operations in Iraq; Symbolic value of the involvement of small countries such as Mongolia in the war.